Vancouver Adventures

On the way back from Vancouver, we were driving our rented Chrysler Sebring Convertible on I5 and there was a trailer hitch in the middle of our lane that we couldn't avoid (at least not without hitting one of the cars that was on either side of us). In the second and a half between seeing the hitch and hitting the hitch, three simultaneous thoughts went through my head. 1) Oh <EXPLETIVE>! Please let us clear this thing. 2) $22.99 a day for Thrifty’s car insurance is the best money I’ve EVER spent. 3) I really hope we make our flight. <BANG><Cur-chunk><SCREEEEECH> We got off to the side of the freeway, pushing the hitch the entire way, while oil, transmission fluid, and an assortment of other automotive fluids poured onto the ground. Now normally, we don’t buy the grossly overpriced insurance, but since we were leaving the country and didn’t know what our personal coverage would be, we thought it might be best just to spend the money and I repeat, it was the BEST money I’ve ever spent.



Sitting on the side of the freeway with cars passing us less then 4 feet away, we called Thrifty roadside assistance and then waited an hour and 15 minutes for the tow truck driver to come from Seattle to get us and the car. While we waited, we filled our time by filing a police report, fending off 4 different people who wanted to take the trailer hitch (one of whom left his business card so that we could call him to come get it after we were done with it - we didn't), and being pushed by the DOT guy up the nearby exit ramp. The tow truck finally arrived and the three of us piled into the front seat of his tow truck (it was cozy to say the least) for the hour plus drive back to the car rental yard. We arrived back at Thrifty, handed them our paperwork, and hopped on the bus to head to the airport.



At this point, it was 1:30 and we have a 2:15 flight. We arrive at Sea-Tac airport and stand in the moderately long line to check our luggage, thinking “we’re not gonna make it.” We finally made it to the front of the line around 1:50 and checked our bags, hearing the joyful “BEEP BEEP BEEP!” indicating that our bags are late and are not guaranteed to arrive even if we do make our flight. We’re handed our boarding passes and run to the security checkpoint. We now arrive to a massively long winding line where there are just two TSA agents checking boarding passes and IDs. We patiently wait the line, resigned to the almost certain fact that we were going to miss our flight. At 2:03, we get through those TSA agents and start in on the substantial lines for the metal-detectors and nudie-booths. And then, as if ordained by a higher power, TSA decides to open another line – RIGHT NEXT TO US. I hear one agent ask the others “Are you ready?” as he comes over to open the line right next to me. I am the first through the line with Arwynn closely behind me. Time for the sprint (or maybe a marathon - our gate was the last one in the concourse) – Thank you Patrick Bell. As we come running up to the gate, we are lucky enough to find that, not only are we not late, but we are actually early enough to board at the end of our boarding group. Even luckier still, the flight wasn’t full, we got to sit together, and we didn’t have to sit with anyone else.

We touch down in Salt Lake City, go to the baggage claim area, and our bags arrive shortly thereafter. At the end of the day, our stressful day turned out all right, but I will have a hard time turning down that $22.99 insurance ever again.

The Future Babies Verleger

Ok. We are both really bad at this whole blogging thing. But obviously we need to get better at it! So here's an update. We've been in Utah almost a whole year now. I can't believe that! I wouldn't say it's "flown" by exactly, but we made it. Here's the short version:

Turns out we were both allergic to our dear Nibs! so we had to return her. That was a really hard thing for both of us. CheyFi came to visit which was tons of fun. We went back to Indiana & Michigan at the end of the summer, which was awesome. My fambly came to visit for Fall Break and we all had a great time! Thanksgiving was tough, because I had to work, so we couldn't spend any time with our families at all. But we made up for it at Christmastime, heading back to Indiana in early December for the Collins side, then meeting the Verleger/Bell side in Florida for a fun-filled family cruise vacation to the Caribbean! It was amazing! Matthew started teaching his first class, which was Numerical Methods. Then softball season kicked off in Louisville, which involved lots of trips back to the Midwest for Arwynn, capped off by a 13-day trip at the end of the season for both of us to see the Big East Championships and NCAA Regionals in Ulmer Stadium. I decided to start an RN-MSN in Education program at Western Governors University. My first day is June 1st! That's also the day Tori & I start our 1,600-mile drive so she can spend the summer with us in Utah. Good planning on my part, eh?

And here we are... one year after we initially drove across the country to our new homeland. We decided, together with the support of our family, to wait another year before we start trying to have a baby. So this is me putting it out there. I have 15 months left in my journey to a healthy baby-bearing body. I have the help of an amazing husband, kick-ass trainer, supportive baby sister, and great friends and family. I have all the keys, and it's time for a strong push toward the finish line. Look out world! Fittest Summer Ever starts now!